Non-economic aspects of negotiations Organizational Behavior Lecture X Winter Semester Jolanta Babiak

Past and present What makes for an effective negotiator? Real negotiation was about getting the best economic deal for yourself or your organization For years research and teaching focused on the deal Concepts of value claiming and value creation were presumably the competitive and collaborative tactics that served these goals Somehow it was recognized that the underlying relationship was important but relationship issues were not addressed directly

Aspects of negotiations Although it has been acknowledged that negotiations are complex, multilayered process, until recently the focus has been only one layer of this process Yet, in order to craft a deal, negotiators must manage at least three distinct layers: the meaningful aspects of negotiation, i.e., creating and claiming value the interpersonal interactions that support and shape negotiators’ ability to craft a deal; the increasingly complex environment in which negotiations are held and deals are made To manage theses processes, negotiators need to balance a proficiency of important, deal-making skills with a mastery of complementary social and relational skills.

Shift in understanding key issues of successful negotiations Negotiation scholars are turning their focus to the intangible aspects of negotiation, such as trust, emotion and reputation Scholars and practitioners start acknowledging the changing environment in which we negotiate, which may involve unseen opposition, unidentifiable coalitions, and difficult and awkward disputes Managing these intangible aspects of negotiation requires many “soft” skills that focus on the social and relational aspects of negotiation

How do we learn intangible negotiations skills? how to create a learning environment in which our individuals experience the consequences of reputational damage, unethical behavior, or trust violation? Upon the increasing interest in emotion, how we can recreate ‘‘hot’’ negotiations so that we learn to manage both own and the other party’s strong emotional reactions how can we better capture the increasingly complex negotiating environment which includes changing technology, globalization of business, and sensitivity to the environment

Emotions We can safely assume that both positive and negative emotions will be present during negotiations just as they are present in other social interactions Emotions may be honest and realistic, reflecting our reaction to the other party’s offers and behaviors: they may be “crafted” and aimed at influencing the other party. Thus, it is important for negotiators to recognize own emotions, the other party emotions, act upon them and successfully manage them Some researchers consider emotion management as a form of negotiation expertise (NEEM) and more vital for negotiations than emotional intelligence as a trait The strategic display (or hiding) of emotion, can involve deception

Complex environment Both external and internal factors increase the complexity of a negotiation Complexity increases when we recognize that negotiations are a dynamic process that need to be actively managed Cultures (e.g. high vs low context communication), timing, strategies to recover from difficult situations Timing: time costs (may affect one party) and time deadlines (may affect both parties) The use of StopWatch, designed to explore the effects of time pressure on negotiation. Using this negotiation enables learning about the counterintuitive value of disclosing your final deadline as early as possible in the negotiation.

Social context Reputational effect Social outcomes such as reputation are as important, if not more important, than economic outcomes especially in the long term relationships Ethical behavior

Bibliography Olekalns, M & Brett, J.M. (2008). Beyond the Deal: Next Generation Negotiation Skills. Introduction to Special Issue. Negotiations and conflict management research. Volume 1, Number 4, Pages 309–314.